For Latest info: North East Anti-Fascists
This coming Saturday 17th May, North East EDL plan to hold a demonstration in the West End of Newcastle under the pretext of protesting about ‘Muslim grooming gangs’.
It’s a regional EDL demo, but in these days of declining numbers for the EDL, the difference between ‘regional’ and ‘national’ demonstrations has tended to become a bit irrelevant – the numbers they get on the day having more to do with whether they are stronger in one area than another.
Hence the recent EDL demo in Rotherham getting significantly more numbers than when they held ‘national’ demos in Exeter or Slough, places where they have little presence.
Grooming people into the far-right
As with all the issues they seize upon, the EDL don’t give a monkey’s about the victims of grooming gangs but only use the issue as an excuse to have a go at all Muslims for the crimes of a few. They are notoriously silent about any rapists or child abusers who aren’t Muslim and especially so about those in their own ranks. The EDL have a sorry history of refusing to acknowledge and defending their own child abusers, paedophiles and rapists, including a founder of the organisation.
All the EDL want to do is sow division and turn people against each other in difficult times when unity is more needed than ever. They seek to spread the tired racist option to scapegoat and turn on some demonised group in society. In the 1930s it was the Jews, in the 1950s Carribean immigrants, in the 1970s South Asian immigrants. Today their target is Muslims.
Alan Spence
The EDL claim to be a ‘non-violent, non-racist human rights organisation’. As an example of the sort of non-violent, non-racist human rights defenders we are dealing with, let’s have a look at the EDL Regional Organiser for the North East – Alan Spence.
He used to be bodyguard for BNP top Nazi, anti-Semite and Holocaust denier Nick Griffin and in 2010 he was a BNP candidate for the Newcastle upon Tyne East consituency.
In 2011 together with a gang of EDL and Infidel goons he attacked the Tyneside Irish Centre in the mistaken belief that it was hosting an SWP meeting. He got sent down for 7 months for this attack.
Infamously in May last year he stood next to Stephen Yaxley Lennon at the EDL’s Newcastle demonstration and said “send the black cunts home” to hundreds of cheering EDL members
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/edl-gang-jailed-attack-newcastle-1407869
t’s certainly not the mental picture I have in my head of a leading non-violent, anti-racist human rights defender.
EDL stuffed full of Nazis and racists
And in case you think that the North East EDL’s leader is somehow a unique case, last Saturday 10th several members of the North East EDL turned out to stand with the neo-Nazi National Front for their demo against child grooming gangs. There is abundant evidence of even more Nazis and racists in the North East EDL.
The indomitable North East Anti-Fascists have been busy mobilising an opposition to the EDL for the 17th.
The details of exactly where the EDL will marching on Saturday are still unclear, as the police have not confirmed them yet. The best bet is to keep watching North East Anti-Fascist’s Facebook page and Twitter feed for the latest info.
‘Newcastle Unites Against the EDL’ are also protesting against the EDL on the 17th.
No fascists! No racists! No nazis!
We’ve always been united! Don’t let them divide us!
http://antifascistnetwork.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/weve-always-been-united-stand-against-the-edl-in-newcastle-sat-may-17th/#more-1731